Narendra Modi finally gets his 60 months but can he deliver on his promises?

New Delhi: During election campaign, Narendra Modi's favourite line was- you have given 60 months to Congress, give me 60 months only.The people of India have finally given him 60 months. The Indian electorate has reposed faith in Narendra Modi's promises by giving him a massive mandate. Narendra Modi will be the first Prime Minister after Rajiv Gandhi who enjoys a comfortable majority in Lok Sabha without being subjected to pulls and pressures of ever demanding coalition partners. Even Narendra Modi would not have expected a result in which BJP will cross the half way mark on its own. A majority for NDA was never in doubt but the quantum of victory is something that has surprised both the winner as well as loser. The GOP would not have expected to perform so badly that it will fail to muster the numbers to officially claim the post of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. When the campaigning began, it was clear from day 1 that the Congress party under Rahul Gandhi's leadership was in no position to offer a credible challenge to Narendra Modi whose appetite for electoral success was just unmatched. For the first time, India witnessed a presidential style campaign with only one candidate in race. There was no opponent who could challenge Modi. Modi was well aware of the limitations of Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi and that's why he left no stone unturned in making this campaign personality centric, more like a presidential campaign. Narendra Modi succeeded in winning a landslide victory for his party as BJP won 282 seats on its own while NDA won 335 seats. The quantum of victory surprised Modi's friends and foes alike. Now the point is that the people of India have given Narendra Modi the 60 months that he had asked for. Will he be able to fulfill all the promises that he had made during election campaign?It's not that Modi has no experience of running a government. In fact, he is now one of India's longest serving Chief Ministers given that fact that he ruled Gujarat for 12 long years. He has scripted Gujarat's success story, especially in terms of industrial growth, that has won him applause both within and outside India although a lot remains to be done in Gujarat if socio-economic indicators are to be believed. Will he be able to replicate his Gujarat success on national level because running a state is different from running the nation.The reality is that the road is not that easy for Modi. Modi has made promises to change the destiny of people living in villages and remote areas of the country. He told the electorate – you give me a stable govt, I will change your destiny. People have given him a strong government. Can Modi really change their destiny now?What needs to be understood is that India has a federal structure and the onus of changing the living standard of people actually lies on the state governments. Health , education, electricity ,roads are subjects that are crucial for changing the living standard of hoi-polloi but they all fall within state list and the central govt can't interfere much. The central government can at best introduce new schemes and allocate more funds but who will execute those programmes? It's the state governments whose machinery would be responsible for executing these schemes and programmes. What if Modi does not get whole hearted support from state governments? One can't overlook the fact that bigger states like UP, Bihar, West Bengal, karnataka are all ruled by opposition parties. Leaders like Mamata banerjee, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Nitish kumar and his protégé Jitan Ram Manjhi would not like Modi to make inroads into their bastions sitting on development rath. The argument might sound a little farfetched but in reality, it reflects the bitter truth that exists at ground level. In this country, bi-partisan support for any cause, however big it may be, is a rare sight. A case in example is Modi's promise for cleaning Varanasi. It's basically the job of the municipality which, in turn, needs full support of the state govt machinery. What if the state govt becomes hostile and refuses to co-operate fearing Modi will run away with all the credit?It's not that Modi is not aware of these challenges. He himself has been Chief Minister of Gujarat for 12 long years and he fully understands how crucial the role of state governments would be in his scheme of things. He'll have to find a way for crossing this hurdle.If Modi has to deliver on his tall promises then he'll have to come up with some excellent ideas on how to get full cooperation of state governments because these governments have got the keys to development that Modi has promised.Cordial centre-state relation is a must for transforming India into a developed state with a better living standard for its people. The present political culture under which Indian leaders look through every issue through political prism, is not very encouraging. Modi will have to change that culture if he has to succeed in writing a turnaround story for the downtrodden in this country. Will he be able to script that story? In the central hall of parliament, Modi while addressing the parliamentary party meet said that he is an optimist by nature. It's going to be a test of his optimism and resilience when he tries to change the contours of centre-state relationship in India.The state governments are very touchy when it comes to the encroachment into their territory. Modi had himself objected to UPA initiatives on NCTC and communal violence bill and had pointed out that these bills transgress into state government territory. Now that roles have changed with Modi presiding over south block, how would he convince the Chief Ministers belonging to opposition parties for extending support in matters that fall within state list? It's going to be a herculean task for Modi. Modi has to find a way out as people have huge expectations from him and he himself had promised the moon in his election campaign. Now it's time to deliver.